Introduction
Got a new season of PokeDraft beginning soon? GamePress’s four experts in the format ranked their top 25 picks to get your ready for your upcoming draft. In order to make sure we’re all on the same page, we ranked according to a standard set of rules — namely, those used by the PoGoRaids PokeDraft in season 6. In particular:
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Bosses: Random Tier 3, chosen from among each wave of bosses (averaging one boss per week). In particular, this means we all anticipate the semi-permanent Machamp and Alolan Raichu during the course of the season, with other common bosses (eg. Gengar, Sharpedo, and Piloswine) also highly likely.
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Scoring: Each participant is given a score on each boss relating their time to the best time among players in their division. PoGoRaids gives 0 points for a loss, and (your time remaining/best time remaining)*75 + 25 points for a win. Scoring methods that give a larger reward for having the fastest time on some bosses may favor glassier Pokemon with higher DPS. The individual boss scores are simply added to compute a player’s total score, and the highest scoring player wins.
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Bans and Splits: All Pokemon currently available may be drafted once. Alolan forms, Deoxys forms, and Giratina forms are considered separate species and are drafted on an individual basis. Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie are banned, and Mewtwo is split into two Pokemon: Classic Mewtwo (any fast move and Psychic, Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, and Hyper Beam charged moves) and Elemental Mewtwo (any fast move and Ice Beam, Flamethrower, and Thunderbolt fast moves).
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Weather: All weather boosts are permitted, with no scoring benefit for runs completed in neutral weather.
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Format: Snake draft with 10 participants and 10 draft rounds, completing unique 6 raids from among the drafted team of 10 for each of the 8 bosses. The draft is blind; participants draft their teams before any of the bosses are announced, and must consider possible events and potential upcoming Tier 5 bosses to make inferences about which Tier 3 bosses may be included in the pool.
Even with a set of agreed-upon rules, ranking Pokemon for a format such as PokeDraft is incredibly difficult and some choices may feel somewhat arbitrary. In the rankings that follow, the four GamePress writers considered their local climate during the summer months (all of us live in the northeastern United States) and the readily-available weather types for raiding. These rankings will certainly look different in the winter, with snow-boosted Pokemon like Metagross, Mamoswine, and Weavile becoming more relevant as the calendar turns to December. Some may also find rare and useful weather types such as fog and wind more easily accessible than others. Your mileage may certainly vary.
Included with the list of our rankings is some information about each Pokemon’s popularity in the 6th season of the PoGoRaids PokeDraft (“v6”) among the 13 divisions that drafted according to the rules listed above. Note that this draft began on May 15, before the most recent movepool shakeup (including the addition of Charm, and Wing Attack on Moltres), before Mudkip Community Day, and before many drafters had obtained decent Cranidos or Gible.
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v6 Score: Average draft position in the 6th season of PoGoRaids PokeDraft
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V6 Rank: Rank of the Pokemon’s v6 Score
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v6 Top 5 Score: Average draft position from PokeDraft v6 considering only the top five “expert” divisions, chosen by performance of the participants in the 5th season
For more about the PoGoRaids PokeDraft, see NoLucksGiven’s breakdown of the Champion Division draft with v5 Champion David.
Each of the four writers (CuttyWow, NoLucksGiven, DownWithTTP, and yourcalcprof) ranked their top 25 Pokemon for the format (all unranked Pokemon were given a score of 30). To obtain the Power Ranking, these ranked were averaged, with the highest and lowest scores for each Pokemon weighted half as much as the others, and ranked from lowest to highest. The v6 draft results do not figure into the Power Rankings as listed below.
Without further ado, the list!
Species | Pwr Rank | CW | NLG | TTP | YCP | v6 | v6 Score | v6 Top5 Score |
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Moltres | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3.307692 | 2.6 |
Mewtwo (C) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.076923 | 1 |
Giratina (O) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 12.30769 | 12 |
Groudon | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2.615385 | 2.8 |
Kyogre | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4.538462 | 4 |
Honchkrow | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 8.076923 | 6.2 |
Gengar | 7 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 11.07692 | 8 |
Roserade | 8 | 7 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8.769231 | 6.6 |
Blaziken | 9 | 9 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 12.69231 | 12 |
Breloom | 10 | 10 | 19 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 16.46154 | 16.6 |
Alakazam | 11 | 13 | 8 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 13.92308 | 12.8 |
Swampert | 12 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 50 | 50.53846 | 59.8 |
Rhyperior | 13 | 14 | 9 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 12.07692 | 10.6 |
Garchomp | 14 | 12 | 24 | 5 | 15 | 39 | 41.38462 | 33.6 |
Raikou | 15 | 19 | 11 | 13 | 19 | 27 | 31.15385 | 40.2 |
Rampardos | 16 | 11 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17.92308 | 20.4 |
Tyranitar | 17 | 20 | 15 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 10.46154 | 12.8 |
Metagross | 18 | 18 | 23 | 14 | 18 | 16 | 17.84615 | 20 |
Exeggutor (K) | 19 | 17 | 22 | 17 | 20 | 19 | 18.30769 | 14.2 |
Heatran | 20 | 16 | 14 | 23 | 28 | 32.15385 | 26.6 | |
Mamoswine | 21 | 24 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 18.07692 | 19 | |
Espeon | 22 | 21 | 17 | 22 | 20 | 22.23077 | 21.2 | |
Entei | 23 | 23 | 16 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 23 | |
Gardevoir | 24 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 22.30769 | 23 | ||
Zapdos | 25 | 10 | 63 | 63.69231 | 73.2 |
1 to 5
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CuttyWow (1): Top tier DPS vs Machamp, Hitmons. A one-mon Fire team.
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NoLucksGiven (1): Able to solo Machamp + a Fire attacker.
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yourcalcprof (1): Best Fire-type and now best Flying-type? The new king of PokeDraft, no question.
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DownWithTTP (2): Amazing Flying & Fire Damage.
Note: Classic
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TTP (1): Super strong vs Machamp & Raichu, excellent flexibility.
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CW (2): OP vs permanent bosses in rare weather, still impactful in neutral. Focus Blast a nice bonus.
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NLG (2): A top counter to two ever-present bosses; Machamp and A-Raichu. This ability will further be referenced as a “Mewtwo”.
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YCP (2): Still the best pick for covering both Machamp and Alolan Raichu.
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CW (3): Solves a permanent boss (A-Raichu), a frequent boss (Gengar), and a hard boss (Alakazam).
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NLG (3): Better than Groudon, considering it's a better Raichu counter.
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YCP (3): It's better than Groudon. Really. Fog is really nice, but not even necessary.
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TTP (7): Capable of handling so many bosses essentially on its own.
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NLG (4): The best start (after Moltres) to any Clear-boosted draft teams.
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TTP (4): 1v1s Raichu without dodging or hunting fog. Margin vs Jolteon. Flexibility with Grass.
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YCP (4): Jolteon phobia is real. Gets a big edge over Garchomp because of Solar Beam.
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CW (6): Round one Ground-type and round ten Grass-type (better than Meganium?).
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TTP (3): Reliance on rain is a con, but capable of outstanding times.
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CW (4): One of a small handful of true margin-builders. Held back by limited historic utility.
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NLG (5): Draft a full Water team in one pick.
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YCP (5): Water can be useful, and Kyogre is the best among them by far. Sometimes it’s a wasted pick.
6 to 10
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CW (5): Mewtwo with flying subtyping.
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NLG (6): The next best “Mewtwo” with poor defensive coverage.
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TTP (6): Absurdly fast Dark & Flying damage makes up fragility.
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YCP (6): Rivals Mewtwo in covering both Machamp and A-Raichu, but needs help due to low bulk.
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NLG (7): Practically unrivaled DPS that will usually hit twice in a season.
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YCP (7): Faster than Tina but needs help. Sludge Bomb sometimes can do some things.
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CW (8): Half a Giratina-O with Poison utility. With Rampardos, one of two remaining generalists in the game.
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TTP (11): Explosive Ghost with the benefit of Sludge Bomb
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CW (7): Top-tier super-effective damage against a wide variety of historical bosses. Appreciates a little help.
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TTP (8): Grass & Poison DPS gives flexibility in frequent weather.
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YCP (8): Top Grass and top Poison. With some backup, Roserade is a great pick.
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NLG (13): Opposite the Electric pool, Grass-types are so deep that I wouldn’t prioritize them heavily. You can always complete a Grass team. Roserade goes higher than the others because of Poison, but I don’t think that makes it a first pick.
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CW (9): Will need backup, but the top of the charts for 60% of a raid.
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TTP (10): Blast Burn is a game-changer. So fast. Fighting an obvious plus. Cannot do either alone though
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YCP (10): Sometimes you’ll use it a lot and love every second of it. Sometimes it’ll warm your bench the entire season.
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NLG (18): You’ll probably draft this alongside another Fire-type, but doing so can easily result in a top Fire time.
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TTP (9): Super-fast Fighting, dominates in a post rebalance world. GK a great option for Grass damage too
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CW (10): Fighting-weak bosses are frail enough for the low bulk not to matter. Mixed Grass Knot sets are successful.
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YCP (11): Grass Blaziken but less gambly.
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NLG (19): Comparable to Roserade with a less relevant 2nd typing.
11 to 15
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NLG (8): A solid “Mewtwo”.
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YCP (9): Still a really good choice. Dazzling Gleam variant now has backup against Machamp if you can't find wind.
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CW (13): Mewtwo with half the bulk.
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TTP (19): Mewtwo light and also it Dazzling Gleams sometimes.
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NLG (12): Though untested, Swampert manages a passable Kyogre impression. Awkwardly needs Ground support.
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TTP (12): Hydro Cannon is STELLAR, and Ground a huge plus.
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YCP (13): Still somewhat lackluster as a Ground-type, but that's not why you want it.
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CW (15): The new hotness. Kyogre with a two-bar and Ground access!
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NLG (9): I respect Jolteon, but getting a Rock attacker too makes this worth IMHO.
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YCP (12): Excruciatingly painful to use, but will continue to be a top 20 pick as long as Jolteon and Scyther exist. Can Surf?
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CW (14): Will keep you in touch on Raichu, Scyther. Find margin elsewhere.
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TTP (18): Groudon & Rampardos light.
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TTP (5): It's a slightly slower Groudon with low key-generalist filler potential.
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CW (12): The fog-free choice for A-Raichu.
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YCP (15): Can 1v1 Jolteon and A-Raichu, but until Ground-types get some better moves, there will be better ways to beat pretty much everything else.
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NLG (24): Someone with more Jolteon fear or less fog access may pick this up higher.
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NLG (11): Ideally you pick this with Zap for an insane Electric team. Electric-types aren’t incredibly deep. Locking this in early can allow for some big wins.
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TTP (13): Shadow Ball takes a fine mon into one that borders elite.
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CW (19): Solves set-dependent oddballs like Aerodactyl and Starmie. Contributes in fog. Beats Skarmory?
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YCP (19): Shadow Ball will come in handy. Maybe there’s hope for Electric-types in draft after all.
16 to 20
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CW (11): Instant margin on the increasingly common Bug-type bosses. A functional generalist besides.
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TTP (16): Capable of winning a league on the back of Scyther time. Reliance on PFC a minus.
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YCP (16): Wanna build a margin? You'll probably need to take a friend (Aerodactyl, anyone?).
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NLG (20): This guy just Rocks. I dislike having to commit 2 full picks to Rock-types, whereas other top options have more versatility.
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YCP (14): I want to hate it, but I can't. It's good at too many things. Take Banette or Absol, too.
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NLG (15): I like Ttar more than most. So tanky. Foggy Tyranitar can solo A-Raichu.
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CW (20): Bug and Fire bosses make Trapranitar look better. Needs a strong lead (Absol, Banette) to function vs Psychic/Ghost.
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TTP (20): Flexibility. Pairs well with a Glassy Fog Dude. Don't overpay though.
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TTP (14): Seasonal Star. Much better in winter.
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CW (18): No snow required for Aerodactyl, space rocks. Decent vs fighters in wind.
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YCP (18): A top 10 pick in the winter, but even I'm not getting snow in July. DPS is good enough to be viable without it. Too bad about Psy-quake, though.
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NLG (23): Hard to rank with such an awkward boost but it’s insane if it hits.
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CW (17): Get one with Confusion and learn to hotswap. Good against everything.
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TTP (17): Flexibility a massive plus. Requires Confusion of course.
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YCP (20): Falling behind in both of its types, but still solid a solid #2 on your Machamp team.
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NLG (22): Legacy Confusion required for this rating. Egg is still a fantastic Grass-type despite being the 5th best in DPS.
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NLG (14): Fire-types are generally hotly contested. Heatran allows you to get in and get out, with just enough bulk that it can solo bosses that the other Fire-types can’t.
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CW (16): 90% of Moltres for 100% of the raid. Iron Head helps cover Granbull.
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YCP (23): Slightly slower than Entei, but with better bulk against some bosses. Stone Edge is kinda nice.
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TTP (Not Rated): Awesome Poke with special TDO. I prefer to get Fire later in the draft.
21 to 25
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TTP (15): Seasonal Star with Ground flexibility.
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YCP (17): Wouldn't really be worth a mention in the summer without the threat of Jolteon.
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CW (24): Serviceable vs A-Raichu, Gengar. Eases Jolteon PTSD.
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NLG (NR): Mamoswine's horrible defensive type coverage holds it back for me. Snow-boosted types are also too unreliable to count on.
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NLG (17): Machamp being near guaranteed means it’s too important. All my picks from here start needing another Pokemon to 2v1. Espeon is the most generous while still allowing for fantastic times.
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CW (21): Beats Machamp and Gengar by a lot. Not much else. Pretty to look at.
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YCP (22): With more Machamp counters to contend with, Espeon's stock has dropped a bit.
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TTP (NR): Strong Machamp counter. Not far out of my top 25, argument can be made for higher if you expect the Hitmons to return.
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NLG (16): Can almost be a Heatran, though lacks some bulk and flexibility.
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CW (23): 90% of Moltres for 80% of the raid. Iron Head helps cover Granbull.
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YCP (24): Fire is one of the best types in the format, and Entei is all the Fire you’ll need.
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TTP (NR): Pretty awesome Poke with pretty special TDO. Lacks the flexibility or margin creation I want in the first couple rounds.
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TTP (21): Charm will bring the price above this. Great mon especially in cloudy. Some overlap with Fairy & Psychic uses though.
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YCP (21): Now with options. Yay!
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CW (NR): Belongs in the top 25 over Deoxys for raiders without wind access.
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NLG (NR): It's yet to be seen how effective Fairy teams can be. Some people draft this to complete a windy team while others draft it to start a cloudy team, meaning I think it goes higher than it should with such overlapping coverage.
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NLG (10): Electric-types out-DPS Grass-types, despite worse coverage. Zap now does Machamp just as well as Metagross.
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CW (NR): The role compression is nice, but it's second-tier in both roles. I dub it Yellow Tyranitar.
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TTP (NR): Drill Peck is neat. There are better fliers and better Electric-types available at 25, but Zapdos is much improved with the new sets.
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YCP (NR): Well, at least it’s usable now. Probably a fourth-round pick.